Pothole Pro smashes repairs target

Midlothian Council’s JCB Pothole Pro has smashed the target of permanently repairing 1,000 potholes in the first six months of its use.

2,000 permanent repairs

Called ‘The Tarminator’ after a public competition to name the 13-tonne digger, the machine has fixed 1,930 potholes between 16 May and the end of September.

Reached target in July

Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for roads, Councillor Dianne Alexander said: “Working with this powerhouse of a machine, the roads teams actually reached the target of permanently repairing 1,000 potholes in July.

Quick and effective

“To now get to the 2,000 mark and beyond is incredible and is testament to just how quick and effective the JCB Pothole Pro is. These are permanent repairs that should last the lifetime of the road, which is great news for our communities.”

Three-in-one solution

The JCB Pothole Pro is a three-in-one solution specifically designed to take on any pothole repair, large or small. 

Eight minutes

It cuts away damaged road surface, crops the edges of the cavity and cleans it out within eight minutes. 

Used to take half a day

A four-person crew then prepares, fills, and rollers the repair sealing it permanently, all within half an hour. Conventional methods would take half a day to do fix the same pothole temporarily. 

Capital investment

The JCB was bought as part of a £780,000 capital investment to replace outdated roads machinery.

£5 million spent on residential streets

The council also recently completed a £5 million, two-year programme to resurface residential streets. An additional capital budget of £12.5m is to be spent over the next five years to continue to upgrade the residential road network.

Important to communities

Cllr Alexander added: “We know the public feel very strongly about potholes and maintaining our roads. That’s why we’re doing as much as we can to offer the best possible service within the severe financial constraints all local authorities are facing.

Strict procedure

“Meanwhile, we continue to have a robust system in place to inspect, prioritise and repair potholes with emergency pothole repairs carried out within 24 hrs.”

Impressing locals

Bonnyrigg resident Diane Smith of Broomieknowe Gardens said the Tarminator has been fixing potholes on her road. She says: “It’s certainly impressive.”

In the picture

In the picture from left to right are: Broomieknowe Gardens resident Diane Smith, Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for roads, Cllr Dianne Alexander, JCB Pothole Pro driver Stuart Dunlop and roads crew members Dougie Hall and Sam McLean.